The faculty and administrators of the Smith College School for Social Work are deeply disheartened by last week's decision of a New York City grand jury not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in relation to the death of Mr. Eric Garner, who died in July after being restrained in a chokehold by Officer Pantaleo. It is yet another example of the dismaying legalization of violence used by police toward people of color, particularly Black men and boys, within our society. Following on the heels of a grand jury's decision not to indict former police officer Darren Wilson in connection with the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, this decision offers further confirmation of how deeply structural racism and inequality--which dehumanize communities of color, destroy lives, and degrade us all--are embedded in all corners of society, including our "justice" system.
In the months surrounding these two grand-jury verdicts, we have been grappling as an institution with the following critical issues.
1. How should we, an institution for educating social workers who are members of a profession with a set of professional ethics that call us to "act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against [any persons and groups]" (NASW Code of Ethics), respond to such events?
2. How should we, an institution for educating clinical social workers who are members of a profession with a set of professional ethics that call us to not "practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race [or multiple other sociopolitical identities]" (NASW Code of Ethics), take action in light of such events occurring in the society in which we live and practice?
3. How can we, a school for clinical social work with an explicit anti-racism commitment, respond to these events in ways that actualize our commitment as a concrete and effective set of actions rather than as theoretical aspirations?
These are complex questions that we, as a school, commit to examine with our faculty, students, and other stakeholders.
We hope that you will join us in our ongoing efforts to find meaningful ways to uphold our values and ethical commitments to the profession, the School, and to ourselves as members of a value-driven profession that takes the goal of social justice seriously and personally. We hope to expand and welcome critical dialogue.
Marianne R. Yoshioka, M.S.W., Ph.D.
Dean of the Smith College School for Social Work
Yoosun Park, M.S.W., Ph.D.
Acting Associate Dean of the Smith College School for Social Work
Faculty Members of the Smith College School for Social Work
Anti-Racism Task Force
Hye-Kyung Kang, M.S.W., Ph.D.
Fred Newdom, M.S.W.
Peggy O'Neill, M.S., Ph.D.
For more information, visit http://www.smith.edu/ssw/docs/SSWStatementInvitationToDialogue.pdf
We are delighted to announce that we are accepting applications for the Bertha Capen Reynolds (BCR) Fellowship Program, which offers a twelve-month residential fellowship for a doctoral student in the dissertation phase of a social work Ph.D. program.
The BCR fellow is expected to be in residence full-time at Smith College from September 1, 2015, through August 31, 2016. While the focus of the fellowship is to support dissertation completion, the fellow's duties may include, but are not limited to, advising and classroom teaching.
The fellowship provides:
-$30,000 stipend
-Access to a $6000 seed grant for research or to support dissertation completion
-library privileges at all five campuses belonging to the Five College Consortium
-health benefits
-office space
-housing assistance (up to $12,000/year for individuals, $18,000/year for families)
Fellows must be either citizens or permanent residents of the United States. The applicant must have completed all of the requirements for the doctorate except for the dissertation.
Review of applications will begin in early February 2015.
Please see the full announcement for details.
For more information, visit http://www.smith.edu/ssw/docs/BCRFellowship.pdf
The Smith College School of Social Work holds an anti-racism commitment that calls us to identify, critically analyze, and intervene against the injurious effects of racism. The commitment urges us to speak out against the kinds of systemic racism and oppression playing out in the current events in Ferguson.
Violation of basic human rights--the criminalization of people of color, particularly young men of color, and the institutionalized and too often lethal violence perpetrated against them with seeming impunity--has sparked outrage in Ferguson, in our nation, and across the world. The events being played out in Ferguson are far too reminiscent of those from the civil rights era. They are dismaying evidence of the fact that, six decades after that era of hope and struggle, systemic racism continues to oppress communities of color and debase every member of our society.
The crisis in Ferguson does not exist in isolation; it loudly echoes historical and current conflicts in the US and across the globe. The outrage spilling from every corner of the country may be naming Ferguson, but it is speaking about the everyday crisis of racism in every neighborhood, every town, and every city. Racism recognizes no geographical or political lines; likewise, active opposition to the destructive and deadly effects of racism must be universal and unceasing.
As clinical social workers invested in social justice, we aim to bear witness to the grief, loss, and collective pain and rage of those close to such struggles. As a school for social work with an explicit commitment to working against racism, we aim to expose the forces of structural oppression and injustice that result in violence and dehumanization across all relationships.
A call to action
We call upon you, as members of this community, to engage in:
- Non-violent social and political action to provoke systemic change that promotes justice, safeguards human rights, and ensures fair and equitable treatment and respect for human dignity for all people
- Critical dialogue about the systemic forces of race and racism that shape our selves and construct our relationships with others
- Investigation and analysis of how these dynamics affect the communities within which we live and work.
We also encourage members of our School community to attend local response events, such as the one that will take place at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow (11/25/14) at Northampton's City Hall. Information on planned responses in other locations can be found on the Ferguson National Response Network website (fergusonresponse.tumblr.com).
Marianne R. Yoshioka, Ph.D.
Dean of the Smith College School for Social Work
Smith College School for Social Work Anti-Racism Task Force
Hye-Kyung Kang, Ph.D.
Fred Newdom, M.S.W.
Peggy O'Neill, Ph.D.
Wondering how to fit continuing education credits into your busy schedule? Register for online continuing education classes through the Smith College School for Social Work! Earn 0.5-5.5 CEUs per course from the comfort of your home or office--while learning from the experts!
Each year, we offer a wide variety of informative and engaging online courses on timely topics, presented by some of the finest helping professionals in the field. Selected popular on-campus continuing education courses were video and/or audio taped over the past three summers. Our current offerings are available in an easily accessible online format through March 31, 2015.
Our new and returning online course offerings:
Women in the Military: Rewards and Challenges
Kathryn Basham, M.S.W., Ph.D.
The Transformative Nature of Grief and Bereavement
Joan Berzoff, M.S.W., Ed.D.
The Trauma Whisperers: What Works in Trauma Treatment
Daniel Buccino, L.C.S.W.-C., B.C.D.
(NEW) DSM-5: Implications for Social Work Practice
David S. Byers, M.S.W., L.I.C.S.W.
Tools for Solving Ethical Dilemmas
Catherine Clancy, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.
(NEW) Attachment Based Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder
Yvette Esprey M.A.
(NEW) Raising the Color Bar: Thinking about Race in the Dyad from a Relational Perspective
Yvette Esprey M.A.
Trans-affirmative Care: Evolving Role of Clinical Social Workers with Transgender, Transsexual & Gender Nonconforming Individuals
Lisette Lahana, L.C.S.W.
(NEW) Clinical Skills Working with Gender Nonconforming Children and Transgender Youth
Arlene Istar Lev, L.C.S.W.-R., C.A.S.A.C.
(NEW) Relational Psychodynamic Theory and Therapy
David Levit, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
Object Relations Theory and its Current Applications
David Levit, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
Connection and Hope: Psychosocial Capacity Building in Response to Disasters
Joshua L. Miller, M.S.W., Ph.D.
A Clinically Meaningful Understanding of People with Disabilities and the Impact of Ableism
AndreAs Neumann-Mascis, Ph.D.
Attachment Across the Life Span: Clinical Implications
Sally D. Popper, Ph.D.
Narrative Therapy and Children/Adolescents and their Families
Beth Prullage, M.S.W., L.I.C.S.W.
Quiet, Blackness, and the Grace of Being Human
Kevin Quashie, M.A., Ph.D.
Understanding ADHD/ADD and Executive Functioning in Children and Adolescents
Sharon Saline, Psy.D.
Relentless Hope: The Refusal to Grieve
Martha Stark, M.D.
All the Rage: Helping Adolescent Girls in Crisis
Martha B. Straus, Ph.D.
The Legacy of Developmental Trauma: Treating Complex Trauma in Adolescents and Families
Martha B. Straus, Ph.D.
Assessing the Risk: Interviewing, Understanding and Managing Suicidal and Self Injurious Clients
Kirk Woodring, M.S.W., L.I.C.S.W., C.G.P.
If you have questions, please contact us at sswced@smith.edu.
For more information, visit http://www.smith.edu/ssw/acad_cont_online.php
As a token of our appreciation for the crucial role our field affiliates play in mentoring our students, we are delighted to offer them the opportunity to participate in the School's online continuing education program.
Tuition will be waived for all Smith College SSW field affiliates (e.g. directors of training, current student supervisors, and faculty field advisers). Participants who take advantage of this opportunity will pay only the $5 registration processing fee.
For information about available courses, please follow the link below.
For more information, visit http://www.smith.edu/ssw/acad_cont_online.php